Beloved author Lucy Parker pens a delicious new romantic comedy that is a battle of whisks and wits.
BATTLE ROYAL by LUCY PARKER
Series: Palace Insiders #1
Publication date: August 17, 2021
Published by: Avon
Genre: romance
SYNOPSIS
Ready…
Four years ago, Sylvie Fairchild charmed the world as a contestant on the hit baking show, Operation Cake. Her ingenious, colorful creations captivated viewers and intrigued all but one of the judges, Dominic De Vere, the hottest pastry chef in London. When her glittery unicorn cake went spectacularly sideways, Dominic was quick to vote her off the show. Since then, Sylvie has managed to use her fame to help fulfill her dream of opening a bakery, Sugar Fair. The toast of Instagram, Sugar Fair has captured the attention of the Operation Cake producers…and a princess.
Set…
Dominic is His Majesty the King’s favorite baker, the go-to for sweet-toothed A-List celebrities, and a veritable British institution. He’s brilliant, talented, hard-working. And an icy, starchy grouch. Learning that the irksome Sylvie will be joining him on the Operation Cake judging panel is enough to make the famously dour baker even more grim. Her fantastical baking is only slightly more troublesome than the fact that he can’t stop thinking about her pink-streaked hair and irrepressible dimple.
Match…
When Dominic and Sylvie learn they will be fighting for the once in a lifetime opportunity to bake a cake for the upcoming wedding of Princess Rose, the flour begins to fly as they’re both determined to come out on top.
The bride adores Sylvie’s quirky style. The palace wants Dominic’s classic perfection.
In this royal battle, can there be room for two?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lucy Parker lives in New Zealand, where she feels lucky every day to look out at mountains, lakes, and vineyards. She has a degree in Art History, loves museums and art galleries, and doodles unrecognizable flowers when she has writer’s block.
When she’s not writing, working or sleeping, she happily tackles the towering pile of to-be-read books that never gets any smaller. Thankfully, there’s always another story waiting.
Her interest in romantic fiction began with a pre-teen viewing of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (Firth-style), which prompted her to read the book as well. A family friend introduced her to Georgette Heyer, and the rest was history.
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Battle Royal by Lucy ParkerMy rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I've been wanting to read a Lucy Parker book for quite a while now and never seemed to get around to it. When I saw this adorable cover I was immediately intrigued. Then I read the synopsis, and I knew I I finally found the book that would introduce me to this author's work. I loved the idea of the romance centered in the cooking show world with a Simon Cowell-esque judge and a sunny contestant who epitomizes glitter and unicorns. It's an enemies to lovers, opposites attract romance loaded with witty humor on every page. Honestly, I was not expecting it to be quite as funny as it was. It reminded me when I first discovered Penny Reid's brand of wit because of how frequently I was chuckling out loud at the heroine's inner snark. Especially when it was directed at her arch nemesis, Dominic De Vere.
She assumed that once she’d driven offin the early hours of the morning,he went back inside, plugged himself into a power outlet,and recharged his cyborg battery.
Four years ago, Sylvie was an up-and-coming baker, looking for a way to get ahead in the baking industry. She had the raw talent, and figured that getting her name out there in the form of a competition baking show was the fastest way to do so. Fast forward to now, and her time on the show ended up making her one of the most infamous contestants in the history of the show. Not just because she was super talented at her craft-mainly it was that one incident with the exploding glitter unicorn that went off right in the steely-eyed, cold-hearted judge Dominic De Vere's face. Their animosity made the drama happy producers giddy. The constant bickering, barbs, and glares were at an endless supply, which was pretty unbelievable considering most people cowered at the slightest hint of his disapproval.
As usual, any aversion to confrontation went into hibernationthe moment those cool, emotionless eyes glanced over her.A provocative little devil always sashayed out to sit on her shoulder,prodding her more vociferously with every sardonic remark thrown her way.
I loved Sylvie from page one. She's sassy, confident in herself, loyal to those she considers friends, and not afraid to be quirky and different. You have to admire anyone who builds a successful business right across the street from an established, world-renowned baker who seemingly hates her guts. He is everything that she is not. Controlled, starchy, and cold. His cakes are traditional with a capitol T. Hers are bright, odd, and probably perform some sort of awe inspiring trick. According to his criticism on the show, her talent was wasted on too much flash and not enough substance. Instead of crying in the corner, she set out to prove him wrong, and now she's his biggest opponent for the big jobs.
There are jobs...and then there are the cement your name in the history books kind of jobs. Baking the cake for a royal wedding? It doesn't get any bigger than that. Sylvie and Dominic both want the honor of producing the cake that will skyrocket their reputation and boost sales for a very long time to come. While they both have very different approaches to cake baking, the potential clients are anything but traditional royals. That gives Sylvie a fighting chance to impress them if she can come up with a concept on par with Dominic's elegant mastery. Both are determined to come out on top and have every confidence that they can blow the other out of the water. What they didn't expect was spending so much time around each other and almost...sort of...starting to like each other. Or getting to know their opponent at a deeper level and discovering that they are so much more than their initial judgements of each other.
“Four years ago, if someone had told me that one day
I’d never find greater comfort than in
the sound of your voice and
the scratch of your stubble,
I’d have questioned their sanity.”
So lightly, so easily,
she could say things that he’d never forget.
Dominic may be cold on the outside, but he cares deeply for the well being of his employees and struggles with the damaged relationship he has with his sister. He strives every day to live up to the memory of his grandfather who founded De Vere's, and is haunted by experiences in his childhood.
As he slowly opens up to Sylvie and shows her his more vulnerable self, she sees the caring man that very few people are lucky enough to see. He's always on guard, but she somehow gets past all his defenses. The two of them shouldn't work, but once they get real with each other, it feels as if no one else could ever work quite so well. Sylvie brings smiles, sunshine, and laughter back into his life. She tames his satanic cat, and gives him a shoulder to lean on after feeling alone for more years than he cares to remember. She helps him communicate his uncomfortable emotions and start to rebuild his tenuous relationship with his sister Petunia. As the date gets closer to decision day on possibly the biggest gig that either of them could possibly land, how will this affect their budding feelings for each other? I had a feeling how this conflict would be resolved, and I won't lie, my predictions were right. I also guessed early on who was leaking Sylvie's recipes to a slimy rival. That being said, it didn't bother me that I wasn't taken by surprise.
I did wish that there had been more of the story focused on the baking show as that was what initially drew me into reading the book. I'm a big fan of competitive baking shows so I was really looking forward to watching a romance unfold in that world. However, the focus was more on the royal wedding cake, and investigating a mini mystery on the side. That didn't affect my rating or enjoyment that much, and it won't be an issue for many others. It's purely a subjective niggle for me personally. If you're looking for a book with loads of humor and a perfect opposites attract couple, this is the book for you. This was just the light read that I was looking for that delivered the goods and then some! I was so thrilled with my first Lucy Parker read and I'm really excited to see what's to come next in this brand new series. I'm thinking it's going to be Dominic's sister Pet and a certain bodyguard who couldn't take his eyes off of her. I absolutely loved Pet and I know her story is going to be just as good if not better. Let the book stalking commence.
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